title: Operant studies to determine the strength of preference in laboratory rats for nest-boxes and nesting materials.
abstract: Previous work has shown that laboratory rats preferred to use nest-boxes and nesting materials rather than empty parts of the cage. In preference tests, they chose opaque or semi-opaque nest-boxes and long strips of soft paper nesting material. Choice tests to demonstrate a preference between nest-boxes and nesting material were not possible because nesting materials were carried into the nest-boxes. Furthermore, preference tests did not show how important these items were to the animals. Accordingly, operant tests were conducted, in which the rats had to lift a weighted door in order to gain access to an empty cage, or one containing a nest-box, nesting material or both items. By progressively increasing the weight of the door in subsequent trials, it was shown that the rats would carry out more work to reach a nest-box, with or without nesting material, than to reach an empty cage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Manser
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Broom
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Overend
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Morris
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory / Q000523:psychology*; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology*; D006799:Housing, Animal; D008029:Lighting; D008297:Male; D009425:Nesting Behavior; D010209:Paper; D010969:Plastics; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley / Q000523:psychology*; D014743:Videotape Recording
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics